Source: Mississippi State Department of Health

Mississippi is running out of COVID-19 vaccines amid a surge in demand for vaccinations, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

On Tuesday, Missisissippians who are at least 65 years old or who have certain medical conditions became eligible for vaccination.

MSDH said in a press release on Wednesday afternoon that its vaccination plan has been significantly altered over the last few days, especially over the preceding 24 hours. The health department said neither the state’s drive-thru vaccination sites nor the website that allows people to make vaccination appointments were not designed to accomodate the “the monumental surge we are currently experiencing.”

“At this time, we have no additional vaccine, and every appointment is tied to an actual vaccination,” an MSDH press release said.

The agency said it hopes to receive a large shipment of vaccines in mid-February.

“Mississippians should understand that we can only vaccinate residents based on vaccine availability,” the department said. “We will open additional vaccination appointments as we receive more vaccine.”

As of Tuesday, Mississippi is allowing people with chronic medical conditions that are outlined by the CDC to be vaccinated. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said these conditions include cancer, Down syndrome, heart disease, obesity, pregnancy, diabetes and other conditions.

He also said that you can be vaccinated if your physician thinks that you have a medical condition that is serious enough to warrant a vaccine.

The governor received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.

“We know that this is something that is safe,” Reeves said before being vaccinated, “and so as I’ve been talking with Dr. Dobbs, I’ve decided that now is the time, on his recommendation, so that we can convince people.”

As of Wednesday, 73,391 COVID-19 vaccinations had been reported to the Mississippi Immunization Information Exchange. Vaccine providers are required to report COVID-19 vaccinations to this registry within 24 hours of the vaccination.

As of Wednesday, 1,341 vaccinations of Lauderdale County residents had been reported to the registry.

Mississippi reported 1,942 new COVID-19 cases and 31 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state’s totals to 243,899 cases and 5,315 COVID-19 related deaths.

COVID-19 case and death numbers for local counties are listed below.

Lauderdale County: 86 new cases; 5,627 cases since March. No additional deaths; 174 total deaths since March.

Clarke County: 13 new cases; 1,345 cases. No additional deaths; 60 total deaths since March.

Newton County: 32 new cases; 1,835 total cases. No additional deaths; 42 total deaths since March.

Kemper County: five new cases; 750 total cases. No additional deaths; 19 total deaths since March.

Neshoba County: 32 new cases; 3,282 total cases. No additional deaths; 149 total deaths since March.

The Mississippi State Department of Health presumed that 198,888 people have recovered from COVID-19. The department also reported that there are 222 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities.

COVID-19 data

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	1993	65	72	15
Alcorn	2547	50	128	19
Amite	950	25	54	7
Attala	1901	57	173	34
Benton	796	22	45	10
Bolivar	3881	105	224	31
Calhoun	1311	20	26	4
Carroll	1018	20	47	9
Chickasaw	1793	42	53	15
Choctaw	587	12	1	0
Claiborne	832	24	45	9
Clarke	1345	60	110	30
Clay	1538	32	24	3
Coahoma	2185	54	128	11
Copiah	2343	47	75	9
Covington	2054	71	135	39
De Soto	16627	164	111	22
Forrest	5786	113	224	49
Franklin	643	13	40	2
George	1937	37	59	7
Greene	1079	29	52	6
Grenada	2123	69	155	32
Hancock	2433	57	69	14
Harrison	12698	185	476	61
Hinds	15605	309	761	111
Holmes	1668	67	103	20
Humphreys	798	24	33	8
Issaquena	155	6	0	0
Itawamba	2553	57	125	22
Jackson	9898	172	215	28
Jasper	1622	32	35	2
Jefferson	514	19	30	4
Jefferson Davis	826	25	8	1
Jones	6038	108	215	41
Kemper	750	19	44	9
Lafayette	4789	91	187	54
Lamar	4671	62	52	13
Lauderdale	5627	174	407	88
Lawrence	991	17	27	2
Leake	2254	64	88	14
Lee	8603	135	214	41
Leflore	2946	104	234	50
Lincoln	2877	83	171	36
Lowndes	5137	104	214	49
Madison	7937	156	354	67
Marion	2007	71	157	23
Marshall	3315	64	64	15
Monroe	3439	100	189	53
Montgomery	1070	34	54	9
Neshoba	3282	149	197	56
Newton	1835	42	86	14
Noxubee	1079	21	34	4
Oktibbeha	3812	79	214	36
Panola	3535	73	102	13
Pearl River	3100	91	158	31
Perry	985	31	21	7
Pike	2524	76	119	34
Pontotoc	3547	51	42	4
Prentiss	2380	47	99	15
Quitman	654	8	0	0
Rankin	10243	201	365	57
Scott	2362	43	39	4
Sharkey	416	17	43	8
Simpson	2285	66	152	19
Smith	1160	22	58	8
Stone	1373	18	83	9
Sunflower	2736	68	111	16
Tallahatchie	1352	33	48	7
Tate	2623	59	80	19
Tippah	2315	45	101	5
Tishomingo	1773	59	101	27
Tunica	835	21	18	2
Union	3330	55	125	19
Walthall	1096	36	67	13
Warren	3305	91	165	37
Washington	4682	121	189	39
Wayne	1911	29	69	11
Webster	891	23	58	11
Wilkinson	571	24	24	5
Winston	1957	59	114	32
Yalobusha	1121	34	82	22
Yazoo	2339	53	139	18
Total	243,899	5,315	9,810	1,800